500 words a day on whatever I want

American school resegregation

Note: This post covers American schools, but not universities, from 1954 to 2007:

In the early 1900s most blacks in America were required by law to go to separate schools than whites. These schools got way less money than white schools. Schoolbooks were between old and missing. Many teachers did not even have university degrees.

In 1954 the Supreme Court inBrown v Boardsaid blacks had the right to go to white schools.

In 1965 the president signed Executive Order 11246. It said the government would cut off money to any school that did not make a good faith effort to allow blacks and whites an equal chance to attend. In 1968, 78% of blacks in the South went to schools that were less than 10% white. In 1972 only 25% did.

Busing: A common way to desegregate schools was through busing: by making students take a bus to school, the school district could send students to different parts of the district to achieve a good mix of races.

Also in 1965 the president signed the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed any practice that kept blacks and other people of colour from voting.

In 1969 Richard Nixon became president. He won by using the Southern Strategy, by appealing to white racist voters, particularly those in the South. As part of that strategy he appointed judges to the Supreme Court who were against desegregation in schooling and housing.

By 1974 four of the nine judges on the Supreme Court had been appointed by Nixon. That was enough for the Court, inMiliken v Bradley, to limit school desegregation to school districts only, not to metropolitan areas.

White flight:Miliken v Bradley meant middle-class whites could escape school desegregation by white flight, by moving to white school districts. So while many cities and Southern counties desegregated their schools by race, most schools in white suburbia remained nearly all white.

In the 1990s the Supreme Court, in Board v Dowell and other rulings, pulled back from busing. It now no longer required anyone to be sent out of their neighbourhood to another school for reasons of race. That means that school segregation, in the long term, will follow housing segregation.

Housing segregation: Most blacks, whites and Latinos in America live in racial ghettoes: neighbourhoods where most people belong to their own race. While housing segregation by race is not as bad as it used to be, in part because restrictive covenants and blockbusting have been outlawed, it is still at shockingly high levels. That is partly because racial steering by real estate agents which, though outlawed, is still widely practised.

In 2007 most whites went to schools that were mainly white while most blacks went to schools that were mainly black.

Tracking: Even when a school is mixed-race, classrooms often are not. Through test scores, schools can put whites in separate classes than blacks and Latinos, creating two schools under one roof.

In 1957 Dorothy Counts bravely helped to desegregate the schools in her county. Since 1999 they have been resegregating.

Source: Partly based on Beverly Daniel Tatum, “Can We Talk About Race? And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation” (2007).

Yes, this is horrible and true. And it’s why we have affirmitive action programs. Personally, I do not think we go far enough. We should have no illusions about freedom in the United States, since these encourage rational behavior and not cooperative behavior. Freedom inevitably leads to nihilism.

“Yes, this is horrible and true. And it’s why we have affirmative action programs. Personally, I do not think we go far enough. We should have no illusions about freedom in the United States, since these encourage rational behavior and not cooperative behavior. Freedom inevitably leads to nihilism.”

affirmative action is a joke, today. It was useful when it was first applied but not for a long time, affirmative action benefits white women, more than any minority.

It needs to be amended to make it, you know…actually do what it was supposedly created to do, bring equality between white and blacks and other minorities, which it has not done all the way up to 2013!

That’s not going to happen, when the supreme court, has a hearing on affirmative action, to see whether it is still needed today.

Just like the voting rights act, it will be struck down and so it begins….. -_-

@ Peanut
Yes, this is very true. Most of my teaching career has been in schools that are predominately Latino and Black. However, the principals, vice principals and most teachers are white. The bilingual classes fare a little better; most whites can’t be bothered to learn another language so most of those teachers (not counting myself) are Latino. The school I’m at now has had only two Black teachers (we used to have three, but she has passed.) for years now. Whenever we get a new teacher, more than likely the person is white and female. We only have one Latina teacher in a mainstream (non bilingual) classroom.

@Sondis
Isn’t it funny how something that was supposed to help people of color “somehow”wound up benefitting white people?! And yet some of the main people screaming about how affirmative action is discriminatory and needs to be abolished are white women. SMH.

I don’t believe in Affirmative Action and I do agree that it is a joke. Affirmative Action only benefits Whites at the end of the day particularly White women.
I see Affirmative Action losing it’s hold on people years from now though. These White people in power will make sure that they make the lives of Black people miserable for years to come. Trust me. they fear us.

Yes more black teachers would be nice. one of my favorite teachers was a black woman from germany. she had lupus, and i don’t think she is teaching anymore.

@ sondis

Isn’t that something, how they say black ppl u benefit from affirmative action and are ready to get rid of it. smh yet they are the ones who mostly benefit, i guess they will throw themselves under the bus just to try to spite us.
This country is getting crazier each day, and i know it will get crazier the closer we get to obama leaving office. They love villifying black ppl but not showing who the real beneficiaries are. Just like with the news they show black ppl doing stuff and put their name and everything out there, but when whites do something, they may just disclose their name.

“It’s very interesting that a group of heterosexual white males would jeer at a young, attractive Black woman…”

– – –

Hmm. It appears to me the jeering is a cover for some other emotion….Ever notice growing up how young guys would sometimes make a very public display of disliking a girl even though it was clear they were actually very much attracted to her?! The girl in question was usually of a type who was viewed as being either unattainable, unacceptable (for whatever reason) or both….

“The harassment started when the wife of John Z. Warlick, the leader of the White Citizens Council, urged the boys to “keep her out” and at the same time, implored the girls to spit on her, saying, “spit on her, girls, spit on her.”[1] Dorothy walked by without reacting, but told the press that many people threw rocks at her—most of which landed in front of her feet—and that many spat on her back.” – wikipedia

Not surprising that a white woman encouraged the kids to do these things.
Yes these boy laughing at her are feminized and childish. It reminds me of that photo of that black girl walking to school and those white girls screaming at her.
Dorothy looks so annoyed but mature. I wouldn’t have been able to handle all that i would’ve either left or somebody would’ve had an “accident” rofl.

So basically we still have separate but unequal, but now blacks don’t even have administrative control over the schools. So we gave control of the most influential and powerful institution in the black community to white folks. Can we be surprised that their is a black achievement gap.

It’s very interesting that a group of heterosexual white males would jeer at a young, attractive Black woman…

It is indeed. As an Asian male, I’ve had a group of heterosexual white females jeer at me. And I would say, subjectively, that I’m more attractive than most white males. But you know, that’s what racism is about: dehumanization. Whites do not see people of color as human beings, not at the unconscious level. We are no different than animals to them, hence the lack of sexual attraction.

“mstoogood4yall @
“The harassment started when the wife of John Z. Warlick, the leader of the White Citizens Council, urged the boys to “keep her out” and at the same time, implored the girls to spit on her, saying, “spit on her, girls, spit on her.”[1] Dorothy walked by without reacting, but told the press that many people threw rocks at her—most of which landed in front of her feet—and that many spat on her back.” – Wikipedia”

Linda says,

and you want to know what the scariest part is — those jeering white boys and girls are still alive today, and are/were the ones who work for government, businesses, school boards… they had children who might be elected officials, working for the government, running businesses, making local policies — things which Affect black and brown children in this country.

and some of those parents of those jeering boys and girls and still alive and “nana and grandpa” get to babysit and pass down their Philosophy on life —

and then people of today wonder why racism will never die….racisms practitioners are alive and well.

Hmm. It appears to me the jeering is a cover for some other emotion….Ever notice growing up how young guys would sometimes make a very public display of disliking a girl even though it was clear they were actually very much attracted to her?! The girl in question was usually of a type who was viewed as being either unattainable, unacceptable (for whatever reason) or both….

Yes… and there is another picture of Miss Counts walking up to school that morning, and one white boy is holding two fingers behind her head mimicking bunny ears…

Instead of just calming down and dealing with the fact that they had become “hot in the pants” at the sight of a the “new” girl….NOOOO, they had to act a clown. I don’t know the words that were said to Miss Counts her first day of school, but comparing her pictures to that of Elizabeth Eckford, she seemed to have had a much milder first day.

It is indeed. As an Asian male, I’ve had a group of heterosexual white females jeer at me. And I would say, subjectively, that I’m more attractive than most white males. But you know, that’s what racism is about: dehumanization. Whites do not see people of color as human beings, not at the unconscious level. We are no different than animals to them, hence the lack of sexual attraction.

@Kiwi,

I absolutely hear you on this. I think though the jeering is to cover up the fact that they find a racial “other” attractive in the first place.

Hello. Non-American here. I have an open question to whoever wants to answer.

I notice while reading posts about race and education that there is a discussion by (some) commenters that Black Americans should be taught by Black teachers and surrounded by (mainly) Black students. While I imagine that the specifics of this differ from person to person, what do you think about this being an opportunity to create Black only or at least majority Black schools where students can excel?

Isn’t this a chance to accomplish those objectives and get a good education at the same time?

Yes I do believe that Black children would benefit from all Black schools IF it is voluntary. I think Black kids going to ALL Black schools IF voluntary would be a good idea. Hire qualified Black teachers who can teach Black children about Black history before colonization of Africa and then slavery and Jim Crow etc to build and instill pride in Black children. Way too many Black kids go to school learning about Eurocentric Whitewash crap and feel that their own people didn’t contribute to building up America. However contrary to popular belief, Black people did contribute to the foundation of this country and helped build America.

As an 18 year old, I want future generations of Black kids to know that they do contribute to American society and that they are important too. I didn’t know much about Black history until recently and much of it I didn’t learn in the classroom either. Thus I feel all Black schools would be a great idea for Black children especially in this day and age. Race relations are getting worse not better. Plus like I said before, MOST White Americans don’t want their children going to school with Black kids.

It’s funny (not ‘ha ha’ funny) that despite time moving forward, there are those who prefer the old ways. Then again, whiteness wants to remain on top no matter what and the last thing it wants are nonwhites competing for their positions on a grand scale.

It’s so depressing that the schools are actually re-segregating now. Also, in one of my education classes I read a study (that I unfortunately can’t find right now) in which the researchers found that in mixed-race classrooms, black females are the most likely to be sent out of the room to run errands and do chores for the teacher. Sounds like a great way to learn, right? Everyone knows that kids have the best chance at learning when they are NOT EVEN IN THE CLASSROOM. Sharpening pencils and delivering notes are very intellectual activities! I also read that black males are usually punished more harshly in schools than any other demographic, which is obviously a great way to encourage a love of learning in these young men!

Then there is a weird kind of “opposite discrimination” that occurs sometimes. For example, my mother is a very devout Catholic who would certainly declare herself to be against racism, and who, as a young preschool/kindergarten teacher, went out of her way to find dolls of varied ethnicities and wouldn’t use beige crayons labeled “flesh,” because many of her students were Haitian or Vietnamese and didn’t have skin of that color. Still, she once revealed to me that although one of her students was poorly behaved and rude, rather than giving her a low grade in conduct and commenting to her parents about it like she would for a white student, she was thinking of just giving her an okay grade “because she’s black.” What?? How is ignoring this girl’s behavior problems going to help her in the long run? It’s not like every teacher or boss she has is going to give her rudeness a pass “because she’s black” – probably quite the opposite. Giving black students good grades no matter what is basically just setting no expectations for them, in my opinion.

Well, I don’t have much to add to the discourse that hasn’t already been said. The quote “A picture speaks a thousand words,” Speaks volumes to the horrendous ordeal young Dorothy Counts lived through. I’m hoping she emerged from this hellish ordeal a strong young woman. I am hoping that she was able to reach her goals in life and become successful. The evil in the hearts of those Southern whites is telling from that photograph alone. So shameful. America is not as post racial as some are delusional whites think it is.

I wonder if the people in the photograph ever apologized. Do they feel remorse or reflect on their ugly behavior and the ugly people who they were? It’s so shameful that adults participated in this ugliness. Are they still alive?

“It’s very interesting that a group of heterosexual white males would jeer at a young, attractive Black woman…”

you should read melba Patillo’s warriors don’t cry she talks about how when she integrated Little Rock high school a group of white men would follow her around the whole school, harass her, step on her heels and make inappropriate comments and just follow her everywhere…it was interesting.

It is indeed. As an Asian male, I’ve had a group of heterosexual white females jeer at me. And I would say, subjectively, that I’m more attractive than most white males. But you know, that’s what racism is about: dehumanization. Whites do not see people of color as human beings, not at the unconscious level. We are no different than animals to them, hence the lack of sexual attraction.

@Kiwi,

I absolutely hear you on this. I think though the jeering is to cover up the fact that they find a racial “other” attractive in the first place.

I agree and disagree…I think it’s a hybrid emotion…something between repulsion and fixation.

On the one hand, they are repulsed and frightened by her, on the other hand they are fixated on her, curious…the combination of emotions can be confusing…and we actually talked about this in one of my African-American women’s studies courses in college, it’s like cognitive dissonance.

I remember we studied sarah baartman and one thing we talked about how the people especially the European men were repulsive by her features, her larger buttocks, her body etc…but yet they paid money just to go and look at her private parts and booty… and she made money by having sex with white men during the latter part of her life…

my professor who has her PHD said that often white males who wrote about Black women during the antebellum, colonial and Jim Crow era would display this type of cognitive dissonance a type of repulsion, but at the same time fascination, fixation…and odd behavior would be exhibited by them as it related to this cognitive dissonance.

“It is indeed. As an Asian male, I’ve had a group of heterosexual white females jeer at me. And I would say, subjectively, that I’m more attractive than most white males. But you know, that’s what racism is about: dehumanization. Whites do not see people of color as human beings, not at the unconscious level. We are no different than animals to them, hence the lack of sexual attraction.”

@Kiwi,

“I absolutely hear you on this. I think though the jeering is to cover up the fact that they find a racial “other” attractive in the first place.”

MY RESPONSE:

I agree and disagree…I think it’s a hybrid emotion…something between repulsion and fixation.

On the one hand, they are repulsed and frightened by her, on the other hand they are fixated on her, curious…the combination of emotions can be confusing…and we actually talked about this in one of my African-American women’s studies courses in college, it’s like cognitive dissonance.

I remember we studied sarah baartman and one thing we talked about how the people especially the European men were repulsive by her features, her larger buttocks, her body etc…but yet they paid money just to go and look at her private parts and booty… and she made money by having sex with white men during the latter part of her life…

my professor who has her PHD said that often white males who wrote about Black women during the antebellum, colonial and Jim Crow era would display this type of cognitive dissonance a type of repulsion, but at the same time fascination, fixation…and odd behavior would be exhibited by them as it related to this cognitive dissonance.

NOTE: ABAGOND PLEASE DELETE MY FIRST COMMENT I FORGOT TO PUT IN THE QUOTES ETC.

How do you feel about all Black schools for Black American kids? I think it would be a great idea for Black children to be honest with you! Only if Black people volunteered to set up all Black schools and hire qualified Black teachers to teach Black children about their history, TRUE history not the Whitewashed Eurocentric crap that is taught in schools and have pride in their Black race.

I was a student in Prince George’s County, Maryland when it received the court order to desegregate in the 1970s. With over 150,000 students, it was the largest school district in the nation ever to be subject to mandatory desegregation by busing. 20 years after Brown vs. Board, the district was about 25% black and 70% white, but students went to 95% black schools or 95% white schools. They kept it segregated for a full 20 years after Brown vs. Board. The MD supreme court ordered them to change that IMMEDIATELY (it was implemented around January-Feb in the middle of the school year).

Schools were integrated in the mid-70s, but it was very short-lived. White families started plucking their kids out of the schools and put them in hastily set private academies (ofter Christian academies). Whites who could afford it moved into neighboring counties not subject to busing. When I graduated, my school was about 60% white, 35% black, which was about average for the county at that time.
At the same time, DC was getting very dangerous and blacks who could afford it were eager to move out of DC also. Most of those “Black Flight” families moved across the border into PG county.

It was if the entire county, the most populous in the State at that time, got blockbusted.

School desegregation was implemented for a full 30 years until about 2004. By that time, it was pointless as the resegregation was even much worse than before desegregation.

In 2012, the schools were over 80% black, 11% Latino and just 4.6% white. Since some of the schools are near some of the remaining white neighborhoods (or near the Eleanor Roosevelt magnet school) some schools are still 30-40% white. It means that most of the remaining schools are only about 2-3% white. Mandatory desegregation created more hypersegregated schools than pre-segregation.

I don’t think most care if their kids are in a “black school” or not. What we do care about is if they are in a “good school” or not. In California, where schools everywhere receive the same funding per pupil from the state, there are still big differences in the schools, mostly due to parental involvement. I can’t blame anyone for wanting their kids in the best schools they can afford.

@ Mary, I know a few just denied it was them some while in private brag about it. A few of my friends parents where cops during the Chicago Riots and you literally have pictures of them hitting people with batons. Here is the excuses I hear, well it was a different time back then. Everyone was doing it. I did the job assigned to me. On the private, when people forgot I was there or around funny how talking white does that. If you want them to run you can’t just hit the people in front they have no where to go you’ve got to dive in and hit people further back.

I have gone to all blacks schools and I can say it just not for me. I wouldn’t want to do it again for anything. I had White, Asian, Latino, and Others as friends during school. It was one of the reasons I could make it through. However, I think that a black private school that had an emphasis on mind, body, spirit would be nice. What would be the main focus is what I have yet to devise. I personally think that if it is an elementary school, it should pull connections with rich blacks. Yes, I am talking Opera, Micheal Jordan, Steve Stoute, etc and start networking that way. I believe is you are going to do scholarships to the school it should be into wealthy black society.

I don’t think anyone should be forced into segregated schools, but I definitely feel that it would have made an incredible difference if I had grown up having more Black teachers as role models and if I had learned more about my history as an African-descended American woman and I feel like the school system is very white supremacist in it’s structure and methodology

[…] Note: This post covers American schools, but not universities, from 1954 to 2007: In the early 1900s most blacks in America were required by law to go to separate schools than whites. These schools… […]

I suppose you’re referring to demographic change through immigration? One problem with that. Millions of 3rd world immigrants will only increase unemployment and drive down wages for the poorest Americans. Since Black and Latinos are disproportionately poor that is who is disproportionately harmed. That won’t narrow the gap between rich and poor. It will make it much wider.

I was actually referring to KOT’s link which purports that self-segregation by whites actually hurts them (that was my main point, not rich vs. poor). I meant that even if they are successful in self-segregating now, they will have more problems later down the road. They will just continue to self-segregate until they realize that they are surrounded by other people. They might be able to maintain their enclaves — it’ll be like those communities in South Africa that try to remain all white. They might find it a bumpy road to adjust when the country gets to that point. I actually believe that they are already hitting those bumps in the road.

I don’t think the wealth disparity gap will improve soon. But that was not my point.

This is independent of where future immigration comes from. For the past 2 years, non-white live births outnumber whites. The median age in the USA is about 37-38. Even if immigration dropped to zero, in 36 years, non-whites will outnumber whites. This already happened in several states, and will soon occur in Maryland, Georgia, Texas, etc.

Even if immigration is from the “3rd world”, it does not mean they will all be poor. That depends on immigration policy. If they adopt a more skills-based migrant program, it is possible that the future well-educated Americans could have origins in China, India, the Philippines, various African countries, etc. where there is a large population seeking education (and value education more than most Anglo-Americans). Nowadays, we have a large unemployed European population – some might seek to migrate to the USA. But they will never exceed the skill-based immigration from other places (unless the USA reverts back to a whites only policy). In the future, even educated and professional Americans will be largely non-white.

Poor white Americans always had to deal with non-white people. But, sooner or later the rest of white American will have to too.

That is the conclusion stated in the link that KOT provided. There is no research provided in that link to support that claim. It was KOT’s belief that it harms them. I did not express such a belief per se, but was asking him how could one convince white people that it harms them (without expressing any personal belief myself).

Since you have asked the question, it looks like you are a perfect candidate for KOT to convince. :P

Why would white parents want to send their kids to “diverse” schools, rather than selecting a school based race-agnostic factors such as school score, proximity, affordability, etc?

Any individual should be encouraged to understand and appreciate that they are part of a bigger, wider and much more rich diverse world.

In order to thrive and develop and create social and personal awareness, children should be exposed to a diverse range of people and experiences as much as they can.

It is impeding them as individuals and is extremely detrimental in how they view the people that are around them to prevent this. This should start as early as possible when children have yet to be influenced in the negative by the prejudices that can and do develop in adults.

While I can see that no parent would want to send their child to a school that is underachieving, it is still important to try and get a bit of balance and expose children to as much diversity as possible.

Jefe said it here:

It might take another generation for it to smack them in the face. Suddenly they will realize the country changed, but they did not. I would add to this, not just the country but the world is constantly evolving too.

Abagond, I know this if off topic, but I wanted you and your readers to see this, courtesy of the Gawker via Daily Kos. I don’t know how long they will leave it up so that’s the reason I decided to post it on this thread. Feel free to do with it as please. :)

@ Goldfire: I mentioned this in my comments on the Is George Zimmerman thread. I think the Gawker was being disrespectful to Trayvon’s family by putting this on the internet. It is damn shameful and disrespectful. I thanked you for the James Baldwin Youtube in a previous thread.

Where are the talented and gifted teachers that could motivate students from low income communities? The gifted ones like Marva Collins and Geoffrey Canady who could get Black kids excited about learning. I could see how segregating them in their own environments would be helpful. You wouldn’t have culturally biased instructors. If these segregated schools with Black students had the same state of the art resources that the white upper class prep school have for their students, I could see how this might work. But on the other hand how does segregating kids teach them about integrating into society? I have no idea what is happening in the society where people want to segregate themselves. I am all for learning. But I guess society is resorting back to the old days. I like the idea of multiculturalism and diversity.

@Mary Burrell, hi :). I have to completely disagree with you I’m afraid. As far as I’m concerned, I concur with the writer of the article at Gawker in that it’s the only true depiction of Trayvon we have seen thus far since his cold blooded murder; and which to my mind, not only clearly shows us that the portrayals racist rightwing factions of this country, and their open grave mouth piece FIXed news, along with the multiple other racist media outlets, (ie the majority of MSM through commission and omission) have been vigorously working overtime to paint for us since day, are simply not true.

In short, Trayvon in no way fits the black brute stereotype that has been happily bandied about by some whom have shown a psychopathic disregard for truth, conscience, or any other thing required from those in possession of humanity let alone one that is supposdely superior; he was simply a 17 year old American boy making his way home.

What about those mothers that are doing jail time for lying about the school districts their kids lived in? All these women want is a good education for their children. How does segregation in school benefit those kids? Many schools are closing because of poor performing schools.

You said : “@ Goldfire: I want to simply say that to me it was disturbing and grotesque. I respect your opinion though. I just was not ready to see that. But let’s stay on topic. Enjoy you as a commenter.”

I can see and respect your point as well Mary :); I also have enjoyed your commentary :) .

Peanut, you bring up an interesting point. A few weeks ago I was in nyc and a latina(non-black) woman was telling me about the area we were in. It was in the bronx, in a mostly italian/other white area. As we waited for the bus, she began to tell me the good and bad ( we just striked up a convo as the bus was very late). She began saying how her daughter ( 10, 11 or so) attended a local school and how the teachers and admin were always trying to give her a bad grade when they could and she had to go to the school several times to :”deal with them” and she learned from her experience that it was racism. I figured she’s hispanic and that the daughter was hispanic too. She began telling me this story because she was at the bus stop waiting for her daughter and she was mentioning how he daughter works so hard and school and tends to get good grades but that how she’s had to deal with racism b/c school officials in that heavily italian-american/other white area appear to prefer to give her bad grades whenever they can get away with it.

When the bus finally came, I saw that the daughter was black ( most likely mixed or a step child of the latin ladies) and I was like whoa. b/c usually when I talk to non-black hispanics they can;’t relate, they appear to not “see” racism probably b/c they don’t experience and here we have this woman telling me she has to deal with her young daughter dealing with it from adults at school.

It really hurt b/c I was just passing through the area and I did catch some vibes in one or two stores but it’s like DARN, racism is everywhere when it comes to European descendents/people who’ve been affected by euro colonisation.

What I think in regards to affirmative action in particular is that many of the whites against it KNOW there is nothing wrong with it but HATE having to be fair/equality.

I have vowed never again to try to argue with a racist online or go to those racist message boards ( sometimes CNN, and other places) b/c I’ve learned that they will keep denying denying, yet in their hearts and minds KNOW nothing is wrong with programs like affirmative action.

If you don’t view it as an imposition, mstoogood4yall, to explain your reasoning: I’d be interested in what you meant by this. How is bullying a “feminized” or feminine behavior? If anything, it seems to me that most bullies are male and have a rather macho outlook. So it seems odd to locate the cause of bullying in femininity, even if these particular jerks were being encouraged in this instance by their cruel, stupid mother.

I’ve experienced this in primarily white schools – white males harassing black females. It’s weird because in general black men would not do that to white females, in fact, no matter how fat or gross or unattractive a lone white female student would be, she would most likely have a black boyfriend being at such a school.

I believe racism to be a sort of sickness. Years ago in college, it was discussed ( not even by blacks but by Indians, Asians, etc) that the education system needs to be changed in order for racism to really start to subside, people would have to be taught about a more inclusive history of our country, rather than everything from a white supremacist angle. I understand whites currently are the majority but obviously given a certain handed down culture + the education system, many whites were and are being brought up to HATE.

As for the group jeering at the girl to be white males, I have mentioned this before that I’ve found on the job, back in college and elsewhere that white males often act “more” jealous than white females of black women. Maybe the racist ones feel they have to “uphold white supremacy and their race” and so act more aggressive. There have been many times though where the primary attackers of blacks/black females have been white women though. In fact, I experienced that alot when I was younger, from some white WOMAN while I was still a child in the school I was going to.

It’s hard to properly grasp b/c we ( black women) are afterall girls/women and it’s weird to see males, especially groups, acting aggressive to a female or a group of females but I think that’s the sickness of racism.

I have mentioned on my board and talked to other black women about how it works on the job – with white men wanting black women to be and feel “marginalized” and “unwanted”. It’s the weirdest thing to me because it’s weird dealing with a male basically wanting to feel unwanted/unattractive/lonely etc. As a black woman, I had/have never dealt with this around black men or hispanic men or other races. Heck, even among Asian men (who are often said to prefer their own race or if open to be only into white women), I have received those glances, stares of attractive, etc.

It’s not every single white male, but strangely it’s quite alot. i think that’s why subconsciously many of us black women feel black men are to “protect” us more and prefer us more so because of what we face.

Right now where I live is mostly Hispanic and if I were to move I’d have to live in a heavily black, hispanic, asian or other but it has to be primarily non-white as I don’t want to experience again what I had to experience before as a black woman among mostly whites.or what I experience on the job, I don’t want to come home and be in my neighborhood and have to deal with even the vibe or attitude popping up.

as gold fire said they were being bich arse i mean bichy. I usually see girls making fun of other girls and laughing and pointing when they are jealous of another female. Imo males who attack females are weak especially if they wouldn’t dare do that to another male on their level.

It sure is gina. But i’m not surprised its in their history. white males have been attacking black women and children when they couldn’t get to black males. Just like the gullah wars where andrew jackson had black women and kids killed because he couldn’t defeat the black seminole males.

OK mstoogood4yall, I think I see what you are saying. Although in my view, when boys and men attack females it has nothing to do with weakness. It has to do with a sense of male superiority and entitlement. And also, I see messed up male behavior toward females as the norm, not the exception. White males are racist and also sexist. Black women and girls get some of the worst treatment of all because white folks think they are subhuman for being Black and also subhuman for being female. It’s disgusting and wrong.

I was teased mercilessly by a white male in his school, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he did like me deep down inside. He still tries to send me friend requests on different social media sites, but I ignore that fool. He’s a mean person and tries to act black one minute but white the next.

that’s kinda funny to me that some of the white men on your job want the Black women to feel unwanted…and when I say funny I don’t mean clown funny…I mean funny as in…odd.

I’m just picturing in my mind a man getting jealous of a woman and giving her the stink eye in the same manner that a jealous woman would and the visual is making me laugh…

I’m picturing a middle/upper middle class white male congregating in the meeting room or something, holding coffee and a Black woman walks in wearing a red business suit with some nice stilettos….a Black man says something nice to her…

and I am picturing the white man’s head turning and giving her the stink eye and rolling his eyes like a jealous woman would and it’s just making me laugh for some reason… there is something so effeminate about that gesture for a [white] man or any man doing that to a woman…LOL…

And in regards to the education system, it has always been set up to ensure that the masses of Black people would be an underclass, and I don’t think that will change. Yes, more of us are getting degrees, but Black people both in this country and worldwide are not getting the education they need to help themselves.

If you follow the logic, Black people getting the education they DESERVE would signal the end of White supremacy. When you make an unjust system that targets certain people, giving them proper education puts your system on the line. That’s why there’s such a big push for our people to worry more about fashion, bad music, and unhealthy food. I’m also amazed at how “little” money there is for education, but more than enough money for prisons.

I have talked to other black women online and off about this. Primarily online because in everyday life we don’t have time to get into our shared experiences and feelings.

If you have never experienced it, then you are lucky, but I have and many of us have experienced this in intimate white environments ( like on the job, in college situations, etc) where white men are the major haters and with that, weirdly, don’t want black men or any men to like or want black women either.

I have been in certain situations where I didn’t experience this ( with foreign white men) but mostly I have unfortunately dealt with this behavior and vibes where if black guys were around the white males would try to get the black males not to find black women attractive by acting uncomfortable or slandering said woman/black women when the black male/black female were talking or near each other.

In terms of jealousy, yes, I have weirdly seen this AND YES IT is indeed ODD!! where white males act jealous when a black woman is complemented or shown affection. When i think back, yes it is very weird but I believe it’s something that goes along with racism and the madness of it.

interesting Ms. J. That must be why a large percentage of whites are literally, angry and foaming at the mouth in terms of affirmative action and equality programs. It’s strange that Asians can excel but blacks excelling and have equal access angers racist whites, because they want blacks “on the bottom”.

Exactly!!!
And even if some Asian people are shown as “successful” and the “model minority”, the powers that be hide that a HUGE number of Asians worldwide are being abused while making the clothes we wear and other products we consume.

Everything’s about image to them. Imagery over truth and justice, sadly.

No, I meant Asians in America are allowed to excel education-wise and on the job ( although they have may a glass ceiling sometimes) while blacks are fought as we try to excel. I said I “get it” now because as you said, they want blacks on the bottom as an underclass.

“If you follow the logic, Black people getting the education they DESERVE would signal the end of White supremacy. When you make an unjust system that targets certain people, giving them proper education puts your system on the line. That’s why there’s such a big push for our people to worry more about fashion, bad music, and unhealthy food. I’m also amazed at how “little” money there is for education, but more than enough money for prisons. ”

great point! Education definitely give you power, knowledge in general does…I learned hardly anything about African-American history in school and I went to a very good school, it wasn’t until I went to college and had the option of signing up for African-American courses that I started to learn anything and I’ve learned a large bulk just from reading on my own that is when I really started to look at the world differently and I see the racism in the US from an entirely different light and things that I used to look at as not being racist, I now see them for what they are…

I think some white men are weird around Black women and just don’t want us to be desirable to ANY ONE or they don’t want us to believe that we are…

I also think it makes some white men uncomfortable when Black women and Black men get together…ESPECIALLY if you’re the only Black people there and you hook up together…I think it goes back to the fear of us forming some kind of alliance and going against them in solidarity or something…

I remember reading about this situation at the “wall street protests,” where a Black woman was harassed by a white man and he got in her face and was hostile and so she got back in his face and when a Black man came over and asked what happened and he started speaking with the Black woman all of a sudden a white man literally got in between them and tried to break up the conversation because he didn’t want the Black woman telling the Black man what had happened probably because he was afraid that someone would get their azz whooped…

some don’t even want us liking each other…and getting with each other, some racist white men act like they don’t want intermixing either…but at the same time these type of racist white men get upset when Black people are together and praising each other or taking care of each other…it’s very weird…

oh and I should add that’s why there were some white people who were offended by blackpeoplemeet

some racist white people just don’t want to see Black people being successful at anything…including interpersonal relationships with each other…

if we had a predominately Black school that started teaching about Black history all year around and started teaching Black writers and ancient African history as a staple and if the Kids started getting better grades and graduating, I guarantee you there would be white people who would be up in arms about it…

some white people just want us at the bottom, miserable, lonely and subordinate to them…

I respectfully disagree with the reason given, that white men, treat black women the way they do, out of not wanting black women to feel, wanted.

Its more of a white code of conduct by white men, towards black woman, that they try to cover up the fact that, they are and always have been, attracted to black women in a sexual way, not in any loving way.

So to come across as not being attracted to black women and not arise any suspicion of their attraction to black women, they do the exact opposite but to the EXTREME!

Then in secret, when nobody is looking, they tap black woman on the shoulder and “whisper”, that they love black women.

Its more prevalent on “interracial dating sites” and “Craigslist dating ads”, where they anonymously, solicit sex from black women on the down low.

In my personal opinion and from a male point of view, it has nothing to do with white men, not wanting black women to feel wanted or happy.

I think most people are looking way to deep into it, rather than seeing it for what it simply is, white men, cannot and will not, acknowledge a black woman’s beauty in public with white or other black people around.

“Its more of a white code of conduct by white men, towards black woman, that they try to cover up the fact that, they are and always have been, attracted to black women in a sexual way, not in any loving way.”

that may be the case some of the time, but I really don’t care if a white man feels some secret sexual attraction to a black woman or if he’s repulsed by black women that’s no excuse for that type of behavior…it’s sick…it really is…and it’s getting old quick.

btw, the whole reasons that schools were segregated in the first place was to discourage miscegenation btw. You guys need to read Melba Patillo Beals autobiography if you haven’t already, it was one of the first books that I read when I started studying Black history in college and (embarrassingly) I didn’t know anything about the Little Rock 9 before then, had never even heard about them…but yeah she discusses in her book how when she was told by a group of white students that they didn’t want to integrate the school because they were afraid that “mixing would happen.” It was very telling…

that’s always what segregation has been about…it was about subordinating blacks and keeping bp in an inferior position so that mixing wouldn’t threaten white supremacy and “white racial purity.”

racist white people do not want anyone to view us as desirable or equal , including other Black people viewing other Black people as desirable and equal to white people, because that would threaten them…

and maybe that’s what the hostility from those white men in the office is about…

and now that I’m thinking of it…I have gotten the stink eye from older white men in public. I remember I was at the book store one time, drinking a Frappuccino and it was early in the morning, so as I got up to leave, I started to stretch a little…just a normal stretch where you reach your hands up and arch your back…what everyone does and I gather my things, and look at the table next to me…and there’s this white man in a flannel shirt just staring and scowling at me…

I even kinda raised my eyebrows at him like “what’s the problem…” I didn’t say anything…but it was so strange…he was literally scowling at me.

I wasn’t making loud noises or bothering any one, but he was just scowling at me literally…looking into my face scowling…and I had never really thought it anything significant until you mentioned what happened to you at work Gina…I was wearing a dress that day too…so I don’t know what that was about…

I don’t know about him wanting some peanut, but it was scary…he was literally scowling at me…I brushed it off and went about my business, didn’t put too much thought into it, but it was definitely weird..

I agree with you on education. I will always be amazed at I learned so many things in college unlike all my other years of schooling combined. I think academia is a great place to carry on one’s intellectual pursuits, but I’m bothered by how scholarly information is largely withheld from the public. If one’s not in certain circles, one will not know constructive – and even lifesaving – information that they deserve to know.

But that’s how the education system is in general, like you said. Even if you are bombarded by White supremacy in the classroom, certain aspects of White supremacy are going to be kept from your knowledge and keep the people in power in charge. This is why Black children will be channeled to more vocational schools but won’t get any exposure to economics at an early age.

And I’d say that white people in general have a problem with Blacks learning anything constructive and helpful to our well-being. It doesn’t matter if it’s Black history, White history, whatever; they have a problem with us being smarter and self-sufficient. Even when we try to discuss issues that matter to us on this blog.

Segregation was about separating the races. Segregating schools was their way of keeping White supremacy alive. That is why White schools received more funding, better material and better qualified teachers. Black schools, on the other hand, lacked funding, received hand down or worn out books that White schools previously used and didn’t have much qualified teachers. Segregation of the public schools was another way many Black children in the 1900s-1970s were made to feel inferior.

Watch these video, I had to watch it in school. It tells the background story about the Black kids being sprayed with water hoes in Birmingham Alabama by racist White policemen and Bull Conner.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c113fq3vhQ)

I was so heartbroken by this segregation between the races. I don’t mean to sound vain but I am glad my grandparents in Jamaica didn’t have to go through Jim Crow or segregation. They didn’t come here until the 1970s.

But even if many American schools were integrated, I believe that Blacks would STILL get an inferior education.
I went to an integrated high school and witnessed Black students get shortchanged in their education. The Gifted Program was almost all-White, student government was all-White, and the teachers were all White besides a few. Black students across the board failed state standardized testing each and every year while White students consistently passed. I even witnessed White students laughing about this. Black students were also very critical of each other’s physical features, but interracial couples were praised all the time.

So even when we sit in a desk next to Whites in school, we’re being educated differently. And my school was about 50% Black and 50% White.

I have had several White guys in school hit on me. I even had some White guys from my school stop their car to look at me while I was walking home.

Have you ever thought that if the Black Community stressed education and put more value in education, maybe Black children would be doing better in school? Black parents need to get involved in the children’s education and help them succeed.

maybe he was offended that I was reading books in the first place. I have had white people tell me, in a condescending way, that I could speak well…as if it’s such a shock that a Black person can speak in full sentences without uttering an expletive every other word. I hate that crap…” you speak so well,” like it’s a big deal for a Black person to be able to speak English in America.

maybe the sight of a Black woman reading a book, drinking a Frappuccino and wearing a dress in a bookstore was offensive…I don’t know.

I remember reading in the book “the warmth of other suns,” how the parents of Bill Russell (who would become an NBA player for the Celtics) had migrated from Monroe, Louisiana to California. one of the reasons they left was because of how a white police officer had treated Russell’s mother.

One day Russell’s mother was wearing a brand new suit dress that I guess her husband had purchased for her and when the police officer saw this, he was so offended that he ordered her to take it off and yelled at he that she should never dress like a white woman again and he would arrest her if she ever did again. Russell’s mother was in tears the whole day. (p. 187)

I agree. I go to a mostly White high school with few Blacks and Latinos and it is a lot like that. The White students were still more education and received a better education than us. And I don’t get along with most of the Black kids there because most of them are very critical of me or they can’t stand me.

I have had White people say the same thing about me. They even ask me the type of music I listen to. A lot of them say that I am different from ”the rest”. I am on the honor roll and many of them are surprised that I get such good grades.

And that story about the White man taking away Russell’s mother’s dress is wrong. How dare he tell her what to do!

“And I’d say that white people in general have a problem with Blacks learning anything constructive and helpful to our well-being. It doesn’t matter if it’s Black history, White history, whatever; they have a problem with us being smarter and self-sufficient. Even when we try to discuss issues that matter to us on this blog.”

I agree, intelligent or well-educated Black people are offensive to racist white people and to white supremacy. It’s a shock when a Black person can speak in full sentences to many white people…that’s when you start getting called “black girl in a white girls’ body,” etc…because it’s just inconceivable that you can be Black AND intelligent AND well-educated…that just doesn’t happen…any good must come from the white…

I can also understand how even in integrated schools black kids can get pushed to the wayside. I know there was a study that showed Black boys were more likely to be suspended for things that white kids merely got a slap on the wrist for…also there are stereotype that Black children are slower…

and at the time when the incident with the white man at the bookstore occurred, I thought maybe he was just having a bad day or maybe that was just how his face looked naturally, but since you all have brought this up, there very well could have been more going on there…

I just can’t get over the way some white people really think it’s a compliment to say to a black person that they can speak well when we’re just speaking normally…

it’s not like I’m some great orator or Cicero or something. I’m just speaking in English.

do they really believe that Black people ALL talk like we’re portrayed in the media?…and I’m NOT referring to true Ebonics either, because Ebonics is a legit form of communication, but I’m referring to the caricature, malformed mock Ebonics that we see in movies like the Help or Song of the South or Hollywood shuffle…do they seriously think we all talk like that or something??

Now, I really am curious to know what the latent hostility from white men is about. I kept trying to reason with myself that I was reading too much into the behavior of the white man at the bookstore, “oh maybe he’s having a bad day,” or “maybe that is just his facial expression,” even though I sensed anger in his eyes, but you know how females always tend to go against our intuition and try to reason that feeling away…. so I pushed it back from my mind, but now I want to understand this behavior better.

next time an incident like that happens at work, I think you, Gina and whoever else, should jot it down and then come and post about it…cuz this is funny to me. Maybe this behavior is more widespread than I realized and this isn’t even the worst behavior that some white men can exhibit at Black women, but it’s the subtle things that mean the most sometimes…

Okay but I know it was horrible, Nice to hear from you again. How are you doing?

@Peanut
I don’t feel safe as a Black woman in AmeriKKKlan either. Everyday, I feel myself being disrespected or trampled on and it isn’t right. I don’t understand White males’ latent hostility from us either. I feel it everyday I go somewhere. I don’t understand it either.

Most of the bigoted whites where I live already moved out (white flight). So that would lead you to believe that the whites who stay are open-minded and less racist. For the most part, they are. But if you ask any one of the white students at school, they express deep resentment towards the Asian students for “having it easier in college admissions” and “making their academics harder”. The minds of white people will always be a bizarre place. Last time I checked, Asians needed higher GPAs and SATs to get into the same schools as whites. So I don’t know what in the hell those whites were *****ing on about. Probably some overblown sense of entitlement.

@Kiwi, That’s wierd because they regard Asians as the model minority, hard workers, and happy overall. So when ever Latinos, Blacks, and any other ethnic group comes in they lecture about why can’t every minority be like Asians. That’s not the first time I’ve heard what you’ve said about Whites complaining about Asians in the academics aspect. So it’s not that weird thatWhites pic a side and use the model minority argument as a device only when it benefits them.

Sometimes the racist comments posted by whites are so mentally deficient, I begin to find racism funny. Should I feel bad?

Racism in and of itself isn’t funny, however, many of the practitioners such as the goof Aryan, are excellent examples of those who are. If you want to deal with these twats, mock them. There is nothing worse than indifference for these twats.
Here is my take on these tards:

Right. If blacks/Latinos/others do bad, that’s their own fault. If Asians do well, that’s because whites are such nice people. *rolling my eyes* “Having your cake and eating it too” is what we call it.

@ Herneith

LOL I went through a period of depression. Part of it had to do with erasing myself (honorary white) but that’s too complicated, so I won’t go into it. I’m not a psychologist.

@ Jefe you asked me how does segregation from minorities hurt white people. I cannot find a study or explain other than I do believe that such a situation makes a person coward. You are basically imprison in whatever bubble community and it is fine until you look out of the cage. Until you really want to go somewhere and fear has set you back. It is fine until you start to shoot people because you are scared witless in your own country. Whites are a minority there are more even around the world. There will keep being a transfer of wealth lately that has been going to Asian countries like China, Korea, Pakistan, and India. When you are going to have to deal with international companies and you haven’t learn to deal with anything but your own ethnic group in a subset situation you are not looking at being in the cutting edge of things. No matter how smart you supposedly are.
Already to many people America looks like a gun nut, obese, loud country. We get people like Yoshihiro Hattori just accidently going to the wrong house for a Halloween party, You get immense stupidity like Shawn Tyson who figured those two brits were targets because when you separate you leave a lack of empathy. The world has no use for a segregated system of living to keep happening. It is hard to explain other than this. When I go abroad it truly the Americans that many people want to segregate from. Americans get labeled with loud, obnoxious, having little respect, and always telling people their opinion even when it is not wanted. At best I get from people that they think Americans are incredibly naïve. Not that the rest of the world in a paragon of goodness. However when you start off being saying “all men are created equal” it smacks of a hypocrisy.They have no clue about the rest of the world and what they do know is incredibly juvenile things. Now I can only say this is my experience when travelling. I have travel so long that I have an accent people think that I am British or from an African country they haven’t heard of or I grew up in Europe somewhere. As one of the persons I worked with use to say much to my annoyance, if I am going to make a big mistake I should just open my big fat mouth like an American. Segregation is not going to help anyone make money, it is not going to improve the economy, and most likely it is not really going to improve the life of those kids in a system like that.
What I have is an extremely broken Scottish accent from living with too many Scots. Coming back to America most people here think I am some islander. People still forget that I am American or black. We are already kind of a segregated nation few people know any international history, and many place you can literally feel the anger seething out of people. We are more of an Island nation than Japan or Britain and we are slowly racking up a bill. Any segregation makes walls and the funny things about walls is that people like tearing them down and so does nature.

I believe I was right to call for all Black schools for Black children. First of all, it would be good for Black children to be surrounded by their own people instead of White people and others who hate them. Second of all, qualified Black teachers can teach these kids about the history of Africa and the TRUTH about Africa not the Whitewash Eurocentric hogwash that schools today teach about Africa. Last but not least, Black kids could learn how to love and accept themselves for who they are instead of following other children.

An all Black school would be an excellent idea because I plan on opening one one day.

@King of Trouble

Separation from minorities doesn’t harm White people. If they could do it again, they would, trust me. In the days of segregation and Jim Crow, Whites benefited from separation from minorities. They went to better schools with more updated textbooks.

Trust me, Whites don’t want their children going to school with Black and other minority children.

In what ways have we utilized the privileges into which many of us were born. We have more opportunities than those who came before us could have ever imagined yet each day we perpetuate the minstrel shows, glorify gang violence, objectify women, and promote an “only money matters” ethos. Until we as people begin to hold ourselves accountable things will never really change.

@KOT
Oh, yes, we need a post about Yoshihiro Hattori. That was another innocent unarmed 17-yr. old boy shot and killed because he knocked on the wrong door while the murderer got acquitted of all charges. Thank you for reminding me about that incident. All a white person needs to do was to say that it was a mistake, they didn’t mean to kill them, but he felt threatened, so he had no other recourse.

I have travel so long that I have an accent people think that I am British or from an African country they haven’t heard of or I grew up in Europe somewhere.

Ha-ha, me too. I get Russian or South African, sometimes Singaporean, esp. from Americans :P. I think it is because I hardly ever talk to any Americans any more. So, I am always adjusting to whoever I am talking to. Americans reply me that I am lying (“NO WAY”) if I tell them I came from the USA.

@ Adeen, it may not seem like it does but it really does have a negative effect on them. Which means that it has an even worst effect on us because they are of the majority class. It becomes a thing of chicken little except that chicken little has the controls on your surroundings. I know it may feel like it here but the world is not made up of just whites. When the WTO needed money who did they go around hitting but Asia. When China needed to invest and get more land resources for commodities they went to Africa. Yes, it might be able to help minorities if things were apart for just strictly educational purpose but once out of the educational field you have to deal with the real world. Those who have grown up in integrated schools are position to do better. Even if it is a case of being able to hide bigot, repulsive thoughts at bay or inside. While many a white parent may not it just isn’t the world they are living in. Plus we will continue to make sure that it doesn’t become that type of world. Because trust me it does hurt them but any minority living in that kind of segregated situation it is 10x worst. (That might be a little understating.)

@ Jefe, I don’t know who many Americans are always so mad when Hattori’s parents petition for gun control. “There not Americans what right do they have…” I sit back and think, their son was going to a normal American ritual just to be shot by some scaredy cat. I think it gives them a lot of right to be against the gun society here. Maybe just Maybe Hattori would be alive and figuring out how to be a Salaryman, NEET, or what every else he will never have a chance to be. The first question I get from my students parents is “Is America safe” you have so many guns.

I’ve come back to America because I have to get my Masters, and I am thinking about getting another Bachelors. Finding work here has been hard. I do not want to teach anymore because history here is barely taught and I would have to study a lot more to get my English teaching degree here. But the basic ignorance of education in this country in many places makes me want to scream.

Goldfire, thanks for the videos. It’s is cool to see black men taking a role in educating our children.

With so many black men unable to find work, I wonder if this would be the best way to employ them and keep them from turning to the street economy, while also providing positive male role models for children who don’t have them at home.

All Black schools that are ran efficiently by educated Black people wouldn’t have a negative effect on Black children. Black children need to be in an environment where they are around their own people and learn about Black history from well qualified teachers. And I don’t see why are you against that?

Your ignorance on the Brown v. Board decision is not a laughing matter. I don’t agree with the argument, but history is history.

Nonsense. The public school system in NY City comprises school buildings and all the equipment, supplies, etc needed to operate. Despite what you may believe, almost all the schools are well kept.

But you can be sure there’s no demand for calculus or physics in the high schools populated mostly by poor students (black and Hispanic), and there’s virtually no demand for remedial materials at the schools populated by better students.

Um, your second paragraph contradicts the first. They aren’t just denied resources, but entire courses. And what is the purpose of remedial material, because evidently it’s not to place students in a physics or calculus course in the future. At that point school is just a repetitive time sink that could be better used to get actual money, hence the dropout rate. (I’ve taken one remedial course once in my life. I was so bored, unchallenged, and insulted for those 90 minutes that if I had to endure whole school years of that I’d drop out too. I learned more from the science books I read in elementary. Fortunately, I could choose the quality of my high school education). Again, these schools are designed to ensure that students fail.

Separating the wheat from the chaff begins before Kindergarten when kids seek acceptance in the Gifted Program. Once in the program, they attend the schools that offer the classes. Sometimes that means riding a bus to a different neighborhood. In the beginning the racial balance is pretty even.

“Wheat from the chaff?” That’s some scary eugenics mojo you’re channeling. In any case, the racial balance isn’t even at the beginning. Children that get into the Gifted program are disproportionately from affluent families that place their children in quality pre-K and test prep courses, and Asians families that, once again, come from a culture that is even more dominated by high stakes testing than ours.

And after all of that, you’re still not arguing against my thesis; that standardized testing as a means of attaining admission to courses and schools is invalid in and of itself. These tests dominate a student’s future to the exclusion of all other factors: grades, teacher assessment, health, home environment, etc. That small children are pressured to take test prep courses is asinine (and if you’ve never taken one, the instructor tells you flat out that the course only makes you a better test taker, and nothing else). At best, standardized testing can only be good for assessing what a student knows at that particular moment, and nothing more. At worst, they tell us how well a student can game the test to maximize their score. They say nothing of a student’s potential, nor can they help draw out said potential in NYC’s public schools.

All you’ve done is describe exactly what I accuse these tests of doing, and demonstrating first hand the 20th century eugenic thinking that birthed these tests in the first place.

Ultimately, standardized testing stems from the debunked prior that the brain is a static organ, that ones academic strengths, weaknesses, and intelligence is predetermined by biology; if one is “bad at math” or “bad at English” they’ll always be. The science of neuroplasticity demonstrates that this isn’t true, that genius is practiced, not inherited. That talent, at least academic talent, does not exist. So, on what grounds should any student be denied a physics course forever because of a single test?